New York Times ditches NYT Now app

The New York Times is ending its NYT Now app.

The app was launched in 2014, with the aim of targeting a younger audience by offering brief and curated content -- sometimes in a more conversational tone -- but it "never quite took off as The Times had hoped," according to the company. The app's last day will come next month

The Times announced the decision to shutter the app in an article Thursday, saying the move is "driven in part by a shift" toward focusing on Facebook and Twitter as tools for reaching millennials.

"That gave us a different ability to tap into younger audiences and to provide exposure to a much, much wider audience," said Kinsey Wilson,the Times' executive president for product and technology.

Initially, the app offered stories and news briefings for a $8 per month, about half the price of a full subscription. But the Times eventually did away with the fee in an attempt to attract more users.

NYT Now readers were told Thursday that the app is closing down in September.

At its peak, the NYT Now app had about 334,000 unique users. That number was down to 257,000 over the last three months.

But in an internal note, the Times said its monthly users have grown more than 60% across all digital platforms since April 2014, something it attributed in part to targeting millennials on social platforms. And digital revenue has grown 30% since the first quarter of 2014, it said.

"While NYT Now attracted a loyal following, these broader gains demonstrated that we did not need a separate lower-priced or limited free offering in the marketplace to drive growth," the note reads.

The Times said it's integrated some of the NYT Now app's most popular features -- including morning and evening briefings and more informal writing -- into its primary app. And that's where the Times plans to "focus our energy and resources."